Nothing other than the ODI and T20 World Cups, not even the Champions Trophy, has maintained the anticipation levels as high as the Modi juggernaut called the Indian Premier League (IPL). And if we may take the liberty, even the ODI World Cup has its interest dwindling since the last couple of editions, albeit ever so slightly.
But it’s not the time to ponder anything else; rather just grab a drink, dig into your couch and get immersed into the IPL. It’s that time in the cricketing calendar when all the soaps take a backseat and the desperate housewives either get remote-controlled or join the gang.
What’s been the most welcome change since the inception of the mega event is that it has encouraged a family day-out that Indian households saw Westerners doing overseas. The grass-banks, tents and inflatable swimming pools may still be missing but the IPL has at least quashed that held-back attitude, which prevented ladies and kids coming to the ground for reasons obvious to us all.
Coming back to what I came here to tell you, I have appointed a khabri (see image) who will keep me and you posted about the latest in the IPL corridors and of course what unfolds on the ground. He will be working like a man on a mission for the length of the IPL, running from pillar to post and bringing you updates from every nook and corner.
So without much ado, I leave you just one-and-a-half hours away from the IPL opening ceremony, followed by the event opener between the defending champion Deccan Chargers and last year’s wooden-spooners Kolkata Knight Riders.
Oh! As I was about to leave, my khabri tells me that Yuvraj Singh had tweeted “looking forward to scoring lots of runs for my Team.” Looks like he is fighting fit back again. Good news for KXI Punjab!
JS on Cricket 